"What it's really showing is that the impacts of the problematic gambling are not just on couples or the nuclear family but on the broader family network as well.

A problem gambling mother will be abused by her partner who is at the end of their tether and then she will displace that violence onto children.

Professor Alun Jackson, Melbourne University

"And a lot of those people are, I guess as an act of desperation, turning to some level of violence to try and change the situation.

"They are often the victims of violence by extended family members, particularly parents, parents-in-law, who are often stepping in to try and protect their family member.

"For example a problem gambling mother will be abused by her partner who is at the end of their tether and then she will displace that violence onto children.

"So we know children of problem gambling families are subjected to much higher rates of child abuse than the general community."

Support services not doing enough to recognise family violence

Professor Jackson says during the study the researchers doing interviews were often shocked at the harm inflicted.

"People have in mind that it's really only violence if it is physical. What came home to us very strongly is how debilitating it is to live under threat of violence day in and day out," he said.

Professor Jackson said when families with problems attend Australia's gambling help services they are not being asked the right questions and the services are failing to stop relatives hurting each other.

"Nobody knew the extent of family violence in these problem gambling families until we asked and typically it's not screened for," he said.

"We've suggested that problem gambling services must screen for the presence of violence because there's no point trying to work on an individual's problematic gambling without taking the whole family context into account."

The study has been published in the Asian Journal of Gambling and Public Health and is part of a broader project in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.